Deke Bellavia

Deke: What happened in Seattle on MNF?

by Deke Bellavia,posted Jan 5 2014 3:50PM

OK, we’ve got all week to take a long look and analyze everything; from the game itself, to how loud the fans at Century Link are going to be, to the game-time weather forecast. So let’s start looking back at the last time these two teams met.

The Weather: For those wondering, the current forecast for Saturday’s Divisional match-up between the Saints and Seahawks says that the chance of rain is 100%, humidity is 92%, Winds S at 11 MPH with a high of 42 and a low of 38.

The Stadium: Century Link Field (67,000), Field Turf playing surface

December 2, 2013 Seattle 34 - New Orleans 7

The Saints and Seahawks first meeting was honestly more hype than anything. A game billed by many as the possible best Monday Night Football game of the season was pretty ugly, from the Black and Gold point of view anyway. The Seahawks won rather easily 34-7 over the Saints.

At the time of the meeting, the #1 seed in the NFC was on the line as the Saints entered that game with a 9-2 mark while Seattle was 10-1 on the season. The Seahawks jumped out to an early 17-0 lead en-route to a 34-7 win.

New Orleans did not get off to the kind of start they needed to as the Black and Gold offense gained just nine yards on nine plays on their first three offensive possessions that featured two punts and a fumble. Meanwhile, the Seahawks could not have gotten off to a better start.

Seattle scored on five of their first six offensive possession to take complete control of the game. Seattle also got a TD from their defense when Michael Bennett scooped up a loose ball and waltzed 22 yards for a TD.

Seattle QB Russell was solid, going 22-of-30 for 310 yards with three TD’s and a QB rating of 139.6. Drew Brees was 23-of-38 for 147 yards with one TD and a rating of 77.4. Seattle won the turnover battle and gained 429 yards of total offense.

RB Marshawn Lynch finished the game with 45 yards on 16 carries for an average of 2.8 yards per carry. Russell Wilson paced Seattle with 47 yards on 8 carries averaging 5.9 yards per rushing attempt. TE Zach Miller led the Seahawks with five grabs for 86 yards and 1 TD.

Seattle had 10 offensive possessions that saw them score three TD’s, three FG's, punt three times and then run out the clock to end the game. The Saints' numbers were low. New Orleans gained 188 yards of total offense on 56 plays.

The Saints passed the ball 38 times for 144 yards and rushed the ball 17 times for 44 yards averaging 2.6 yards per carry. Mark Ingram led the Saints with 22 yards on eight carries, while Jimmy Graham had three grabs for 42 yards and a TD.

New Orleans had 11 offensive possessions with six punts, two turnovers on downs, one TD, one fumble and one drive that ended the first half.

So do these numbers tell us anything about the last game? I don’t really think so. Seattle was never really tested in the game jumping out to a 17-7 lead that stretched to 27-7 at halftime. It seemed like once Michael Bennett scored the defensive TD for the Seahawks, the game was out of control.

So there you have it. Maybe these numbers will help us point towards some things to break down and or talk about as we look forward to the second meeting between these two with much more on the line this time!

When the Saints played Seattle on December 2nd this was their 3rd game in 15 days, having played the 49ers on Nov. 17th and then the Falcons 4 days later and then the Seahawks on Dec. 2nd.

01/06/2014 3:51PM

No Huddle May Provide an Answer

Deke,
With the crowd noise being a real factor in the game, I wonder if mixing in a no-huddle system with signals with the Saints regular kill audible system would give the Saints a chance to overcome the noise while keeping tempo and tiring the Seahawks defense.

01/06/2014 4:28PM

Run the football.

Continue running the ball while mixing in a little playaction and rub/pick passes. Defensively run a similar game plan to last week, but more gang tackling.

01/06/2014 4:32PM

Brees running the ball

interesting to see Drew run for yardage against the eagles. though I'd hate to see him get hurt forces the sea hawks to defend against another attack. The 49'er qb really used his running ability yeterday

01/06/2014 4:33PM

continue running the ball

With Mark Ingram, he's got fresh legs and a chip on his shoulder. And sprinkle in a little of the rookie as well.

01/06/2014 5:50PM

RUN! RUN! RUN!

The RUN Game Plan was VERY effective in chilly Philly. Takeaway: KEEP IT UP!!!! The EAGLES D was kept on their heels, sucking air until someone called for a pass play and Philly got the ball back and we had no score/scoring opportunities. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The '09 SAINTS used the run and balanced it with a pass attack to different receivers. No team knew who to cover. If I'm not mistaken, the '09 SAINTS/GIANTS game had Brees dismantling the GIANTS with 5 different receivers! This match up will be different from the December game!
GEAUX SAINTS!!!

01/06/2014 7:15PM

Use Jimmmy Graham

This the thing, if we cannot Jimmy the ball, use him as a decoy. You know they gonna try to take him out the game or use two defenders. He is a big part of the offen see. We also have to work on our defense. We are lacking and slacking in that area. Those are some keys to winning.

01/06/2014 9:26PM

'09 Heat on QB

Bring back the '09 heat w/o the bounty, and let Wilson feel the same pressure that made it easy for Favre and Warner to hang up their cleats! Who Dat!

01/07/2014 1:08PM

Run on the Seahawks??

The Seahawks were ranked 7th in defending the run and that was with many teams running more than usual to avoid passing against the high caliber secondary. The Saints are just starting to figure out a running game but the bread and butter has always been the passing. Seems like they should focus on their strengths, not what something they've only come to recently.

01/08/2014 7:44PM

Silence the Quake Meters!

Wilson has too much time with the football in the backfield. Keep pressure on him and the protect the middle while Wilson is on the run. He gravitates toward the right side when under pressure. Get in his face! The Saints need to play tighter coverage on the passing attacks. Wilson will try to use Drew's tactics to win by picking off short yard routes on the field. He's a student of Drew Brees and will be trying to give the Saints a taste of their own medicine. Drew is at his best when he spreads the ball around to multiple targets. It's time to pull the rabbits out of the hat! This is not the Philly game. The Hawks watched that tape, also. The element of surprise will win the game for the Who Dat Nation! Let's get busy and do it early! Silence the quake meters!